


Cause and Effect

by Multifandom_damnation



Category: Power Rangers (2017)
Genre: Bullying, Gen, Hiding Medical Issues, Hurt/Comfort, I'm Bad At Tagging, Post-Power Rangers (2017), Protective Team, Team as Family, Unhealthy Coping Mechanisms
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-25
Updated: 2020-03-25
Packaged: 2021-02-28 23:56:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,234
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23305672
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Multifandom_damnation/pseuds/Multifandom_damnation
Summary: The other Rangers thought that it had happened during patrol one night, but Zack wasn’t ready to tell them that it had actually happened at school, where he had been pushed up against the corner of a table and two of his ribs had cracked with the force of it.
Relationships: Jason Lee Scott & Zack Taylor
Comments: 8
Kudos: 35





	Cause and Effect

**Author's Note:**

  * For [coldmilkchoices](https://archiveofourown.org/users/coldmilkchoices/gifts).



> There are so many things I should be doing, but instead, I'm writing Power Rangers. What on earth is wrong with me???

The other Rangers thought that it had happened during patrol one night, but Zack wasn’t ready to tell them that it had actually happened at school, where he had been pushed up against the corner of a table and two of his ribs had cracked with the force of it. They had healed, of course, because that’s what Rangers did, but it hurt pretty badly for the two days afterwards, and it was getting harder and harder to hide from the others.

He’d been hoping to keep it a secret for as long as possible, but while the Morphing Grid linked them, he should have known that it would be easier said than done.

They’d all limped back to the ship after patrol, exhausted and pained and just ready to sit down for a little bit, and Zack was just so out of it after fighting and running around non-stop for the last few hours that he didn’t even think to put up a wall between the others, and Jason and Kim had been watching him strangely the whole way back to base. Sure, maybe he walked with a slight limp and it was getting harder and harder to breathe, but they had just come back from a pretty strenuous patrol, so it shouldn’t be too suspicious. Billy was limping heavily on one side. Jason had a huge bruise that covered half his face. Trini was holding her wrist at a weird angle. Kim had a swollen lip and a cut above her eyebrow that was dribbling blood into her eye. Zack being hurt the way he was shouldn’t have been any different or drawn any kind of attention.

But as they broke the surface of the water that entered into their underwater base, Jason placed a hand on Zack’s shoulder, stopping him in his tracks. Though his face was still barely recognizable, the swelling was finally starting to go down. “Hey man, are you alright? You look like you took one hell of a beating.”

“Yeah, I’m all good,” Zack said, trying to bounce on the balls of his feet with what little energy he had left and subdue his wince at the pain. He lightly backhanded Jason in the chest. “Why wouldn’t I be?”

Jason frowned as he looked Zack up and down as if searching for something hidden within his skin, but Zack knew he wouldn’t find anything. He’d gotten good at hiding things from people. He’d had plenty of practice with his mum. “I don’t know. You just seem… _off_ today. I might be wrong. But if anything were wrong, you’d tell us about it, right?” 

“Of course, man,” Zack scoffed as he gathered his things and shoved them into his backpack. “You know that. I may be reckless but I’m not suicidal. But I’ve got to run, alright? I promised my mum I’d be home in time to cook her dinner and watch her favourite show with her.”

“No worries,” Jason said as he stepped out of the way so Zack could pass him. “Let us know if you need anything. Same time tomorrow. See you then.”

The other’s offered him a series of goodbyes as he stood under the pool and turned around to salute them with a smile before he leapt upwards and out of the ship.

He didn’t see the way Billy turned to Jason, who was still looking up at where Zack had disappeared with a near-permanent frown, and said, “He’s lying. Uh, you guys know he’s lying, right? I can feel it. Like… I don’t know. But I’m positive that he’s hiding something from us, and I know that there’s no way in hell that he’ll tell us about it. You guys feel it too, right?”

Kim and Trini hummed their agreement as they gathered their own things. “I know, Billy,” Jason sighed. “I feel it too.”

Zack didn’t go straight home like he promised he would, even though his home was a quick hop, skip and a jump from their base. Instead, he went into town to grab some groceries before the store closed for the night because he realized that he actually didn’t have any food at home to cook dinner with. But after that, he went straight home and was greeted by the familiar sight of the brightly lit motor home and the identical-looking white caravans.

At his mother’s request, Zack had strung Christmas lights all over the outside of their caravan. Why? He didn’t know, but he was more than willing to indulge her if it meant that it put a smile on her face every time she looked out the window. “Ma?” he announced himself when he entered, followed by the ruffling of plastic bags and the slamming of the rusty door he needed to fix. “I’m home. Sorry, I’m late. I had to run by the store. Mr Heap from the grocer says hello, by the way.”

“Oh, good,” came his mother’s voice from the back room. “I wasn’t sure I’d see you tonight. How was your day?”

“It was good,” Zack said. “I went to Trini’s house and did some homework, and then I just hung out with the rest of the guys. Nothing much.”

“Good. That’s good. I’m very glad to hear it,” she said, and even though he couldn’t see her, Zack could hear the smile in her voice. “It fills me with joy to know that you have friends now. Good friends like yours.”

“Yeah,” Zack replied, “They’re pretty great. Now relax- let me just make dinner and then I’ll join you. The cooking channel isn’t going to go anywhere.”

When they were snuggled together on the small bed, Zack crammed up in the corner by her head and pillows piled up behind her back so she could hold her own bowl of soup, the cooking channel painting them in vivid colours in the darkened room, his mother reached a frail hand up and tapped him on the forehead to get his attention. “What are you trying to hide, Zack? Why don’t you tell me what’s bothering you?”

Scoffing, Zack placed his near-empty bowl on the side table and slid down the pillows so he was at the same height as his mum, and turned on his side to look at her. It hurt, and he muffled a scream with a fake yawn, but he grinned at her all the same. “Nah, mum. I’m not hiding anything. You know I tell you everything.”

Mrs Taylor looked Zack over with a raised eyebrow, and Zack felt like she was staring into his very soul. “Zack, I’m your mother. I can tell when you’re not telling me the whole truth. There’s no need to lie. What’s bothering you? Is someone giving you a hard time?”

Zack actually had to look away, and he occupied himself with collecting the empty bowls and fixing his mothers pillows. “Mum, I swear, I’m alright. If something was wrong, I’d let you know. You need to get some sleep- I’ll see you in the morning.”

“Are you going to go to school tomorrow?” Mrs Taylor asked. “I hope so. You’ve missed too many days this year. I don’t want you to get into trouble.”

With his back turned to her, Zack cringed and secured his hold on the little porcelain bowls in his hand. “Yeah mum, of course. I wouldn’t miss it. I’m not a delinquent.”

He shut the door on his mother’s familiar affectionate chuckle. “My son, the hooligan.”

He’d never admit it, but Zack absolutely dreaded going to school. It was like a warzone at the best of times, which is why he had stayed away for as long as he had before joining the Rangers. It had gotten better. Now, he had people to sit with at lunch and recess, and whenever their lessons overlapped, he’d have someone to sit with during class as well, whether it be Jason in English or Billy in science or Trini in maths or Kim in history. He always had someone. But it was a big school and they couldn’t be together all day, and sometimes Zack found himself drawn into the dark hallways of the school away from prying eyes in need of a few moments of space, but somehow, they would always find him.

He knew his ribs would heal by morning and he’d continue on living his life as if nothing had ever happened, which is how he preferred to deal with these kinds of situations. He didn’t want to tell his mum, because that would make her worry about him more than she already did, and because he knew her better than she thought he did- she would somehow find the strength to lift herself out of bed despite hardly being able to hold a bowl of soup by herself and march her way down to the school to take care of the issue for him. And he loved her for it, but that wasn’t really something he wanted to deal with.

The last thing he wanted to do was let any of the Rangers know about it either. He knew them. They would be outraged, and in their outrage, they would hardly let him out of their sight, and they would spend day and night keeping an eye on him to ensure it didn’t happen again. And sure, he appreciated their love and kindness, but he didn’t need to be coddled. He could take care of himself. He had been doing it for a long time before the Rangers came into his life and he would be doing it for a long time after.

Besides, Colt Wallace was a jerk, and would always be a jerk. There was no changing that, not even Jason embarrassing him in front of the whole of detention. He never had been very smart. Zack just wished that he would travel alone on occasion and not with a whole army of knuckleheads. He could get away with knocking the crap out of Colt, but with a bunch of people there as witnesses? Wasn’t such a good idea. He could take them, of course, but there was always the chance that one could get away before Zack had a chance to deal with them, and the whole ‘keep the fact that you’re a Power Ranger a secret’ thing weighed heavy on his mind at times.

He tried to be careful at school, but it was pretty hard to keep your distance from other people when the halls were full of kids. Some of them gave him funny looks, some of them kept their distance, and some of them ignored him altogether. That didn’t bother him too much. He had a feeling that it was more because he was friends with the popular kids in school and not because they were afraid of him, but hey, he could pretend.

During recess and lunch, he usually sat with the Rangers. ‘Usually’, only because on this particular occasion, he caught sight of Colt Wallace and his biggest, most knuckle-headed followers standing on the other side of the mess hall, watching him closely and laughing, and he decided that it would be best to take his leave.

“Hey, guys,” Zack said as he stood up from the cramped bench seating pushed too close to the table. “I’ll be right back, alright?”

Kim frowned as he pushed his tray of mostly untouched food away. “What do you mean? Where are you going?”

“Ah,” Zack waved his hand absently. “I forgot that I had to go see Mr Clayton today, about my maths homework. He wanted to talk to me.”

But Trini was looking at him closer than his mother had, closer than even Colt Wallace was, and he felt his heart plunge into his toes. “Mr Clayton didn’t set any math homework this week.”

“I know, he wants to talk to me about something I failed last term,” Zack rolled his eye at her as he gathered his bag sitting by his feet and began shoving his books into it. She frowned at him and recoiled a little bit. He didn’t mean to be rude, but he wanted her to know that she had nothing to worry about, that she was overreacting, and though it may have hurt her a little bit, he did, in fact, get his point across. “Guys, don’t worry. It’s fine. He probably wants to apologize for marking me wrong or something. Don’t stress.”

Whether they believed him or not, they let him leave by himself and didn’t try to follow him. He made his way towards Mr Clayton's office, and then went the opposite direction, and winded through the long darkened hallways to avoid being followed.

He thought he was safe once he walked to the other end of the school, and he paused to take a breath of relief. But then someone ripped his bag from his shoulder and shoved him up against the back wall. Zack should have known better than to think he had gotten away with it, and he glared up at Colt Wallace, grinning down at him like a rabid dog. “Hey there, Taylor.”

“Get lost, Wallace,” Zack yanked his arm out of his hold. It didn’t take much effort. Zack was strong, even when he wasn’t trying to be. “I don’t know what you want but you’re not going to get it from me.”

Colt’s breath was hot on his face and it stunk of balloony and peanut butter. Zack tried to flinch away, but he couldn’t really get far being squashed between the wall and Colt’s body closer than he would have wanted him to be. “Who says I want anything?”

“Then stop bothering me,” Zack replied as he tried to shove Colt in the chest to get him away from him. There was nothing valuable in his bag, so he didn’t mind losing his hold on the straps. He could borrow the books from the library if he needed to. “Find someone else to pick on.”

When Zack pushed him, Colt frowned a little bit at the action and pushed that back twice as hard and Zack’s head hit the back wall. Maybe it would have hurt a regular person, but Zack barely felt it. Colt leant down and began poking at Zacks side, as hard as he could. “What the hell happened to your ribs? I was sure they were broken last week. What’d you do, huh? What’d you do?”

Honestly, Zack was a little surprised at how astute Colt was. Zack knew his ribs would heal by Monday, but he didn’t expect Colt to notice. “They weren’t broken. You’re just a damn idiot who can’t tell the difference between a broken rib and a-”

Zack’s words were cut off by Colt punching him in the face. It took a lot more than normal to hurt him, but he wasn’t going to lie- that rocked him back a little bit. There was no blood, not yet, but his nose stung. He could hear laughter all around him as the others joined in. Colt grabbed his chin tightly, his nails digging slightly into his skin. “I dare you to say that again, you little f-”

This time, it was Colt’s turn to be cut off mid-sentence as a hand clasped his shoulder and threw him backwards, and he slid a little bit down the hallway on his ass on the tiles. A little shocked, Zack just stood there dumbly, as Jason Lee Scott marched into view, looking all the more like an avenging angel, as he stood over Colt Wallace, who was lying on his back, propped up by his elbows, slowly trying to crawl away across the floor. “J-Jason, I…” Colt was stammering as he looked up at Jason with wide eyes.

“I thought I told you to leave me and my friends alone, Colt,” Jason’s voice was low, and his fists were clenched at his sides. If you knew where to look, which Zack did, you could see the faint fluttering of red across his neck and sides as he resisted morphing into his armour. “If you really want to pick on someone, why don’t you pick on a guy your own size.”

Jason gave Colt an opportunity to stand up, and he readied himself as is preparing for an attack, but Colt just turned around and ran away as fast as he could and a moment later, his lackey followed.

When he was sure that the others were out of sight and weren’t going to come back any time soon, Jason lowered his arms and turned to Zack, who was still trying to push himself off the wall, holding his nose as if worried it would start bleeding, which wasn’t really a concern for them anymore. “Sometimes, it’s a good thing to have people afraid of you,” Jason attempted to lighten the mood before realizing that it wasn’t going to work. “He broke your ribs last week? I knew there was something wrong. You were acting weirder than normal. Why didn’t you tell us?”

“I don’t need any of you to baby me,” Zack snapped. “I can look after myself.”

“Zack, there’s a difference between being independent and being a part of a team,” Jason replied, exasperated, as he made his way over to Zack and began to carefully assess him. Not that it was needed. Colt couldn’t hurt him even if he tried. “We take care of each other. There’s no shame in admitting that you need help every once in a while.”

Gritting his teeth, Zack shoved Jason away from him, and Jason let him do it with a frown. “How did you know to come looking for me? I thought I was careful.”

Jason shrugged. “Mr Clayton is a substitute teacher. He doesn’t have the authority to set homework or talk to you about the tasks previously set. Besides, you may have been careful, but Colt and his goons made a big show of following you right after you left.”

A sense of shame washed over him. “Did you tell the others?”

“No,” Jason snorted. “I’d like to think that I’m smarter than that. I told them that I needed to call my dad. They think I’ve gone to the gym for some privacy,” he paused and reached out to place a hand on Zack’s shoulder and squeeze. Zack didn’t want to admit it, but the contact was nice, and it gave him the strength to stand up straighter and look Jason in the eye. “Come on, man, there’s nothing to be ashamed of. I won’t mention it to the others and if you want, we never have to speak of it again. But it’s fine. Everybody needs help sometimes.”

Licking his lips, Zack nodded, and Jason let his hand fall to his side. “Yeah. Alright. Thanks for that, Jay.”

“Don’t sweat it,” Jason laughed as he threw his arm across Zack’s shoulders and began to lead him back towards the mess hall where the other Rangers were undoubtedly waiting. “Come on, Trini’s probably eaten all your chocolate pudding by now. But if you’re lucky, Billy may still have some jelly that he’s willing to share.”

Laughing, Zack let Jason usher him away, and for the life of him, he couldn’t find the energy to be angry about it.

**Author's Note:**

> This work is for @coldmilkchoices who left so many nice comments on my other Power Rangers fics that it just brought a huge smile to my face. I know I haven't gotten to them yet but I really appreciate them and I'm glad that you're enjoying my work x


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